Austin Public Health is pleased to announce the release of our 2017 Critical Health Indicators Report which provides an overview on the well-being of more than one million residents of Travis County. This report gathers, analyzes, and presents information on selected diseases, conditions, and risk factors.

According to Shannon Jones, Director of Austin Public Health, “This report provides foundational information on the health of our community. It represents one of several tools that Austin Public Health will use to develop strategies to impact the quality and productivity of our lives.”

Data in the report notes many successes in creating a healthier community such as fewer middle and high school students using tobacco products, decreasing lung cancer deaths, and declining rates of infant deaths for African Americans. In spite of the successes, a number of challenges persist including:

Blacks have disproportionately higher rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases compared with Whites.

The infant mortality rate for Blacks was two times higher compared with Whites.

The incidence of tuberculosis is increasing.

Over 125 Travis County residents die by suicide each year.

Over 2,000 county residents were diagnosed with HIV during the past ten years.

Poisonings due to narcotics, alcohol, psychotropic drugs and other medications, or noxious substances are the leading cause of unintentional injury death for those 25 through 64 years of age.

Adults aged 85 years and older have the highest mortality rate from unintentional falls.